Second car with a people carrier.

[MamaHechtick]

We currently have a people carrier. DH is about to change jobs so he will be home more and we will need two cars. We have two DC's, DH definitely doesn't like two cars. We go away often in the UK and easily fill up our car, with the second car we'd definitely take both cars.

I'm trying to work out what sort of car we need.

If you have a people carrier what's your second car?

Why would you take 2 cars to go away ?

We have 3 dc (now all adult size, but obviously have been babies and toddlers with all the equipment that entails) and have had many, many holidays in the UK and never taken 2 cars.
Including camping.

I'm also a bit confused by your post.
Why doesn't dh "like" two cars ?

Oh, and our '2nd car' has always been a little 1 litre, old banger. We've had Nissan Micras, a Starlight Sunny, a Toyota Yaris, Corsa and a Skoda Fabia at various time.

Apologies I meant DH doesn't like small cars.

We go self catering and he always packs way too much. We went away a few weeks ago and we had the whole boot of our car so full that we had to use the front seat and footwell too. He had to sit in the back. I hate doing that, I prefer everything in the boot.

So a people carrier (I’m assuming at least 5 seats) isn’t big enough for 2 adults, 2 dc and your luggage? Give over. Telling him to stop packing ‘way too much’ appears to be the way around needing to take two vehicles on holiday.

As for him not liking small cars and you preferring everything in the boot - you both sound a bit precious. You suck up the fact some of your stuff needs to be in the extra interior room you have and tell him to suck up a smaller car if he’s not the one ferrying about the kids most of the time. It’s not unreasonable to need two cars for differing work/home timetables but they don’t both need to be huge gas-guzzlers and you don’t need to take both on holiday.

We went away with one DC and two cats at Christmas (so with all the presents etc as well - and DS had asked for bulky stuff) and managed in a Fiesta! Even when DS was a baby so we were taking travel cot and pushchair, we still got everything into a normal hatchback. I think you need to rethink your packing rather than your car purchase...

Agree about rethinking your packing.

Why doesn't he like small cars ? Is he 6'7"?

My ds is 6 and more rugby player gone to pot shaped than beanpole and he has always fitted in our smaller cars when he's needed to. Whenever you are doing a longer drive, you take the big one. When you are nipping to the supermarket or dropping the dc at football practice, then you are hardly likely to be in the car long enough for it to be an issue.

I mean, when the dc were little, we'd take food for that night, and breakfast, tea and coffee, and shop the next day.
Nowadays, you just order an on-line shop to meet you there, surely ?

Nowt wrong with using the footwell of the cars whilst the dc are small enough not to have their feet there. Then, buy the time they are, you take less babystuff with you, so don't need to.

If he packs too much then a trailer is probably more effective than taking two cars.

DH also hates small cars. If you can get them in the UK a Ford Expedition is amazing for space.

Our second car (with the 6 foot 7 DH) was a Nissan Note until very recently - now a Hyundai ix35 but that's because we realised DH was just grabbing my car for any local trips and not using the "main car" so we've got a slightly larger one for me and he can just run the 7 seater when we need it and until it gets old and clapped out.

Just been test driving and actually DH would have fitted fine in a Fiesta we tried out - some of these small cars are like blooming Tardises inside these days (my Note had a huge boot space for the size of the car) so don't rule 'em out - get him to go and try sitting in some.

Our second car is a VW Polo, it's a great little old cheap car, perfect for biffing about in, although DS uses it and did a very comfortable 120 mile motorway trip in it earlier.